ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Yazīd b. Jābir corroborated the report, saying: “Rabīʿah b. Yazīd related it to me in a more complete form,” and his wording runs:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out on an errand. Early in the morning he passed by a camel sitting on its haunches at the door of the mosque; late in the day he passed by it again and it was still in the same state. He asked, ‘Where is the owner of this camel?’ They searched for him but did not find him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, ‘Fear Allah with regard to these mute beasts; ride them when they are sound, and ride them when they are well-fed,’ speaking in a tone of displeasure similar to what has just been mentioned.”

Ibn Ḥibbān recorded it (844) and Aḥmad (4/180–181); its chain is authentic according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī.

(Note)

The word (kulūhā) should be vocalised with a ḍamma on the kāf, deriving from akl (eating); this is how al-Munāwī explained it. If the narration with that vocalisation is sound, there is nothing further to say; otherwise, what seems nearer to me is that it is (kilūhā) with a kasra on the kāf, from wakala yakilu meaning “leave them (alone).” That is what the context of the ḥadith suggests, and it is supported by the previous narration (no. 22) with the wording, “Ride these mounts in good condition and leave them in good condition…,” i.e., leave them unharmed. Allah knows best.

(al-muʿjamah): the beasts that cannot speak to complain of what afflicts them by way of hunger or thirst. Originally, aʿjam denotes one who does not articulate Arabic clearly, whether he is non-Arab or Arab, so called because of the obscurity and indistinctness of his speech.

24 – “Could you not have done that before this? Do you want to kill it twice?!”

Ṭabarānī reported it in al-Kabīr (3/140/1) and al-Awsaṭ (1/31/1, from the supplementary material), and al-Bayhaqī (9/280), through Yūsuf b. ʿAdī: ʿAbd al-Raḥīm b. Sulaymān al-Rāzī narrated to us, from ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by a man who had placed his foot on the side of a sheep while sharpening his blade, and the sheep was looking at him with its eye. He said”—and he mentioned the rest.